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William and the Windmill

June 1, 2017

At the age of 14, William Kamkwamba built a windmill from scrap to generate electricity. In doing so, he changed the lives of the people in his village forever - and his own.

https://p.dw.com/p/2dxDR
Bildergalerie Kenia Rafael Belicanta
Image: Rafael Belicanta

This documentary tells the extraordinary story of a boy who overcame great obstacles to fulfill a dream. William Kamkwamba grew up on a farm in Malawi, one of the poorest countries in the world.

William grew up without electricity and hot running water in a small village in Mastala, where he and his six sisters worked on tobacco plantations. Every day was just a battle to survive. When William was 13, there was a heavy downpour that lasted for a week. Large parts of the country were flooded, houses washed away, cattle drowned and a famine broke out.

When he had to leave school because his family could not pay the fees, there was little hope things might change. But he spent his time in the village library. There were few books there, but one was to change his life and that of his whole village forever. In a book titled "Using Energy," he found a picture of a windmill. So he began to build one. This was the beginning of an heroic African story: William was invited as a TED speaker, was able to finish his education at a top school in South Africa and study in the USA.

He became a media sensation, wrote a book about his life and went on a world tour. Our film charts all his achievements, but also shows how he has kept his feet on the ground. Footage of his village and parents' house are interwoven with scenes from his new life in America.

 

Broadcasting Hours:

Part 1:

DW (English)

WED 21.03.2018 – 19:15 UTC
THU 22.03.2018 – 01:15 UTC
THU 22.03.2018 – 15:15 UTC
FRI  23.03.2018 – 05:15 UTC

Cape Town UTC +2 | Delhi UTC +5,5 | Hong Kong UTC +8
San Francisco UTC -7 | Edmonton UTC -6 | New York UTC -4
Lagos UTC +1 | Cape Town UTC +2 | Nairobi UTC +3 
London UTC +0 | Berlin UTC +1 | Moscow UTC +3

SAT 31.03.2018 – 03:15 UTC
SAT 31.03.2018 – 18:15 UTC
TUE 03.04.2018 – 09:15 UTC

Cape Town UTC +2 | Delhi UTC +5,5 | Hong Kong UTC +8
San Francisco UTC -7 | Edmonton UTC -6 | New York UTC -4
Lagos UTC +1 | Cape Town UTC +2 | Nairobi UTC +3 
London UTC +1 | Berlin UTC +2 | Moscow UTC +3


DW (Deutsch+)

THU 22.03.2018 – 09:15 UTC
SUN 25.03.2018 – 07:15 UTC

Vancouver UTC -7 | New York UTC -4 | Sao Paulo UTC -3

 

Part 2:

DW (English)

WED 28.03.2018 – 19:15 UTC
THU 29.03.2018 – 01:15 UTC
THU 29.03.2018 – 15:15 UTC
FRI 30.03.2018 – 05:15 UTC
SAT 07.04.2018 – 03:15 UTC
SAT 07.04.2018 – 18:15 UTC
TUE 10.04.2018 – 09:15 UTC

Cape Town UTC +2 | Delhi UTC +5,5 | Hong Kong UTC +8
San Francisco UTC -7 | Edmonton UTC -6 | New York UTC -4
Lagos UTC +1 | Cape Town UTC +2 | Nairobi UTC +3 
London UTC +1 | Berlin UTC +2 | Moscow UTC +3


DW (Deutsch+)

THU 29.03.2018 – 09:15 UTC
SUN 01.04.2018 – 07:15 UTC

Vancouver UTC -7 | New York UTC -4 | Sao Paulo UTC -3